Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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94. To ask the Minister for Finance the extent to which he continues to remain satisfied that adequate measures have been taken to confront inflation here, and control any incoming inflation to the greatest extent possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55812/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To what extent does the Minister continue to monitor the efficacy of measures taken to tackle inflation, both locally generated and imported?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the critical economic challenge we are now confronting. As he will be aware, consumer price inflation picked up sharply over the past year and in October stood at 9.6%. Almost every advanced country in the world is in the same position with, for example, inflation throughout our neighbours within the EU, and in particular among those countries that share the euro with us, reaching a record 10.7% in October. That our rate of inflation is slightly below the EU area average is going to be of precious comfort to the businesses and households the Deputy is concerned about.

As he will know, the key driver of these pressures is the sharp rise in energy, food and other commodity prices as a result of the war in Ukraine. Spillover effects from higher energy prices are also being felt in other sectors, such as food and consumer goods and services. We are acutely aware of this, however, and the Deputy has been good enough to recognise the value of the measures we have brought forward. In addition to our day-to-day budget, which was at the high level of €6.9 billion, we are also bringing forward a set of one-off measures amounting to more than €4 billion. I will not list what they are, given the Deputy knows what they are, but they are all designed in different ways to help households and businesses with the rising costs and inflation and the impact that is having on living standards, our ability to live and the viability of businesses.

Many citizens, who have come through the wearying tunnel of Covid and have finally got to a better point in that regard, have now been hit by the surge in prices, with all that that means for their lives, and we understand that very well. With the measures we are bringing forward, we are doing our best to offer help without creating new risks in the future.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. To what extent are efforts being made across Europe and in this country to identify specific issues that might have a disproportionate impact on inflation throughout the EU and in this country, and has anything been identified? For example, various issues are suggested from time to time as being the cause of the rising inflation. In some cases, investigations carried out by individuals have indicated the figures are not accurate. One of them relates to a builder who was importing steelworks for his construction company. He travelled to Europe and Turkey with a flat-body truck and brought the stuff home at a fraction of the cost. Something is going wrong somewhere.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Indeed. The focus at European level is on trying to reduce the cost of energy, which, as the House will know, is an exceptionally complex and sensitive matter at a time the supply of energy in the first instance is so constrained and so low. That is the focus of considerable collective efforts within the EU because any change in the price of energy will have a significant impact on the rate of inflation we face. In Ireland, of course, the Departments of Finance and Enterprise, Trade and Employment will monitor what is happening throughout our economy to be confident that the change in prices that is happening will not give the opportunity for unwarranted price increases. For now, the level of challenge so many businesses face due to the rising cost of their inputs indicates that the rising prices are driven by the global forces I referred to.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the emphasis on monitoring what is happening as a means of identifying generated sources of inflation, which we cannot afford at this time, whether here or elsewhere in Europe. I thank the Minister for the information he gave. Will this approach continue for the foreseeable future?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes, it will. In the various economic forecasts we conduct, which we will again revise in April, we will continue to monitor clearly where we are with inflation and what that means for our economy overall. While we expect a decrease in inflation rates in the economy for next year, it will be a decrease to only 6%, which, unfortunately, will have an impact on the living standards of our country and the ability of businesses to remain viable and to continue to employ citizens. It will be carefully monitored as the year goes on. For now, that which will have the greatest impact on trying to reduce inflation will be the collective efforts of the EU with regard to the price of energy, and I hope more progress can be made on that in the time ahead.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Tony and Eileen Manning to the Gallery. They are here with Deputy Devlin.